Tobacco-leaves



dialnet mes und: @iti-te.

AND HERMAN GLAFCKE, OF SAME PLACE.

4 Letters Patent No. 99,687, dwtedFebruary 8,1870.

MACHINE FOR SPREADING- TOBACCO-LEAVES.

The Schedule referred to in these Letters Patent and making part of the sanne LI'MARTIN M. KLUCK, of Hartford, in the county "of Hartford, and State of Connecticut, have invented a certain Improved Machine and Process for Spreading A Tobacco-Leaves, of which the following is a specification.

Natu're and Objects of the Invention..

In preparing the leaves of the tobacco-.plant for use in making cigars, they are made to go through a process of booking, which is merely spreadiii g the leave-s out one after another, so as to make them as free from creases as possible, and then piling them one upon another, like the leaves of a book. This is done by manual labor, and, s o far, has never' been well done.

It has not been possible to take the crease out ofthe leaves, and the process, as at present practised, re-

quires a great expenditure of time.

My machine is -intendedto do just this work in a -perfect manner, and with vastly more rapidity than it `has ever been done by hand.

Description of the Accompanying Drawings.

cylinder lies always upon the surface of the lower.

The axle of the lower cylinder is separate from the cylinder, so that it can be taken out and another' cylinder putcn. The cylinder' is made, however, to revolve with the axle., hy means of theset-screw i.

The arie of the lower' vcylinder turns in fixed bearrngs in the standards band b. It shores into its hearings from the pulley end, and is kept in place by fastening on its cylinder', through which it must be inserted at the same time itisput into its bearings,

The axis of the upper cylinder turns in two perpendicular grooves n and n', so that it can rise and fall ireely.

Both cylinders are furnished with a longitudinal groove, in which to fix, by means of a slot almost filling the groove,.the` respective ends of i a long, thin y banthx, of somewater-proot stuff, such as, for instance,

India rubber, or impermeable paper. A breadth of the stuff of about eighteen inches is quite sudicient for spreading the largest leaf. The length' is optional, only the'stuff must be as thin as possible, Vso that as many yards as: possible can be pnt upon the cylinders.

Y The axle of the lower cylinder is driven fromthe operator by means ofthe operators feet operating upon the tread-wheel y.

The intermediate agents, the. grooved wheels e and hyand the cordg, are obvious at a glance. The operators heels rest upon the heel-rest f. With the balls of his feet, first with one foot, and then with the other, he revolves the tread-wheel; the motion is not fast, but it is fast enough, as it is multiplied before it reaches the axle of the cylinder (I, and from the peculiar shape ofthe tread-wheel, the operator can stop it instantly by holding his foot still;

'lo commence operations, the band is `wound entirely upon the upper cylinder', one end only being fastened to the lower cylinder.

The machine now being pnt in motion, tbe'operator takes a leaf of tobacco, and holds its point between t-he two cylinders c and (l. As this leaf is gradually absorbed by the lower cylinder, it is spread out flatly to its fullest extent, `the operator meanwhile having a chance to remedy any temporary diiiiculty which may occur.

Other leaves are then wound on the lower cylinder in the same way, till the band is exhausted. With each alternate leaf the stem is heldV first to the right, and then to the left, so as to keep Athe surface even.

As soon as the lower cylinder is full, the set-screw i is loosened, the cylinder taken off the axle, and an elastic band put around the full cylinder, and it is left to lie in'this condition for ten or twelve hours, the operation just described going on meanwhile, with other cylinders kept in readiness.

After the leaves have lain the requisite time in their ext-ended position, the cylinder is replaced in the machine, and 'the band rolled oil", by means of a winch upon the upper cylinder, and is, at the same time,s rolled on to the upper cylinder.

The winch is operated by the left hand, while,l with his right, the operatorl catches the leaves as they fall, and piles them into a bookJ By this mode of procedure, a considerable gain in time is made over the old hand-process, and a still greater gain in material.

Claims.

I claim, as my inventiou- The stationary cylinder d, the movable cylinder c, and the connecting-bander, whenl constructed, arranged, and operated substantially as described, for the purposes set forth.

Also, the combination of the cylinder al and the band x, constructed, arranged, and operating substantially as described, for the purpose set forth.

Also,.the process, set forth herein, of spreading tobaccoleaves. f

MARTIN M. KLUCK. lVituesses: WM. E. SrMoNns,

H. GLAFCKE. 

